A Force Feedback Controller (FFC) is a type of human/computer interface that senses movement by a human operator and imparts forces on that operator. FFCs can utilize forces imparted on the operator to engage the operator's haptic perceptions. Users interfacing with non-computer tasks routinely exploit the combination of visual and haptic feedback (seeing one side of a task while feeling the other). Bringing this sensory combination into human-computer interfaces can have a variety benefits, including making such interfaces more efficient and more intuitive for the user, immersing the operator in events occurring in a computer simulation, and making such simulations feel more lifelike.
In general, FFCs can be part of the external environment (e.g., a force feedback joystick) or worn by the human operator (e.g., a force feedback glove). Benefits can be realized with an FFC that is wearable and portable, and FFCs that can impart a richer array of forces to generate more nuanced haptic perceptions. Existing portable FFCs, however, are deficient in a variety of ways, including being heavy, bulky, uncomfortable, costly to manufacture, limited in the sensory feedback they can impart, and an inability to precisely localize an imparted force at a particular location on the operator's body.